Apparatus for severing and bursting a continuous multiform



June 10, 1952 E s WRIGHT 2,600,041

APPARATUS FUR S EVERING AND BURSTING A CONTINUOUS MULTIFORM Filed July 22, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet l 7 Z 3 Bmwutor v M i fiL Sicmley wncflfi i 41 BB PQISQ QKYZILW (Utorneg June 10, 1952 wRlGHT 2,600,041

APPARATUS FOR SEVERING AND BURSTING A CONTINUOUS MULTIFORM Filed July 22, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Zhwentor 8B QQMM I.

Gitorneg June 1952 E. s. WRIGHT 2,600,041

APPARATUS FOR SEVERING AND BURSTING A CONTINUOUS MULTIFORM Filed July 22, 1949 s sheewsheet- 5 Ihwentor f. k I Gttomeg Patented June 10, 1952 UNITED STATES PAT E N'ITOFFICE-p APPARATUS FOR SEVERING AND'BURSTING A CONTINUOUS MULTIFORM Elvin Stanley Wright, shreit'sti fiw s. i I Application July 22, 1949, Serial No. 106,300

13' Claims;

This invention relates to apparatus for severing the different record sheets of a continuous multi-formandseparating the sheets from their interleaved carbons- It is customary to'make -multiple form'sheets for use as bills, invoices, purchase orders, 'shipment records, etc.,- as -long, continuous record strips interleaved withcarbon papers so that the record sheets may be typedserially as multiple copies and later to becutapartandseparated from the carbons- The multiple forms have been perforated at their margins for feeding'them through tabulatingmachines ortypewr-itei'ss One type of multiple form, such as. one havingsix record sheets and five-interleaved carbons, 'hasbeen made of three folded sheets tacked togetherat the folded margins, and thecarbons have been securedto the record sheets by adhesive applied at the same margin, so that all ofthe papers-of the multiple form are secured together atone margin, such as at the right hand side, and they The primary object of this invention is .to'over-- com'e such problems and providelapparatusiwhich will feeda continuous 'inulti form'to a requiredi position where the forward set of record sheets is severed from. the remainder and the vIint'erileaved carbons are pulled at'leas't lp'artiallyffrom" their interleaved positions. '1 .1 y '1 Another object istoprovi'de 'suchanapparatus which will sever both. marginal feed strips as Well as drawout'thecarbonsr'l "l''. 5.11;; :1

A further. object is:.to."proTvide .apparatuslof" this-type which willprogressively feed 'a continu, ous multi-form .longitudinally to a required posi= L tion and then by a series or coordinated steps sever the forward set of record sh'eet's; remove" the carbon free marginal feed strip therefrom; i

are freeat the other margin. At the free mar--- gin and inside of the perforationsfor the driving sprocket is a perforated line along which each marginal strip may be torn away. The left hand edges of. the carbons are spaced from the perforated line by. a short distance. The right hand a marginal portions of the record strips are similarly perforated. Separation of the multiple forms and removal ofthe carbons-from the record sheetscisaccomplished by the operator foldingeach marginal portion-along" the perforated lines to .crease the. paper and facilitate tearing. Thentheleft-hand orfree marginal strip is torn away. The operator thereafter 'grasps the record sheets. .between. the thumb and forefinger,--but-' only at the narrow marginal strip-outside of the free ends of the carbon sheets, and by carefully pulling on. the upper right hand marginal corner ofqthemultlple form, the'marginal stripis torn away. Since thecarbons-are secured to this strip, ,they are burst from or pulled out from their, interleaved..positions If the paper tears improperly or forother reasons, it may be necessary to separate .the carbons one by one,- and this involvesconsiderable handling of-both the ear- Qns and the recordusheetsn l g 'Ihis manual.procedure of severing the multiformsandseparating the carbons from the recordsheets is airtime consuming and laborious operation and requires .considerable skill on the part of the operator. Moreover, the constant handling of the carbon papers as required for certain types and conditions of the forms soils the fingers and may cause smudges to be transferred back onto the record sheets.

- ible tape drive'for the paper feedingmechanism burst the carbon attached strip from thei'sheets' and draw out 'the carbons, andlthus accomplish mechanically the series of operations heretofore d n by hand :11" I j 1 A further object'is to provide afeeding rnechanism which has an'adjustable stop so'jarranged that the paper may be fed: forwardlto a required but manually adjustable position. so'that allflof the strips -.may be cut toithe same s'ize without requiringanyskill on the p'artof the operator? A further object: is to provide-Ea machine; of this type with a cutter which 'severs the carb'onQ free marginal portion ofthe paperas it -is ;being'- fed forward andtjwhich comprises a second knife a thatsevers. one multiple paper "setfrom the con tinuous form. 1 l 1' Another object is to provide a dev-ic of; this type :with: adjustments-which adaptit or-treating various 'isha'pe's and sizes off-multiple forms and rendersit ser-viceableformany uses. I Fur ther objects will be made apparent herein- Referring to the drawings whichshowtwo em bodimentsof theinventionz' Y i .I Fig. 1 is a-top-plan view, part1y brokenaway, showing the preferred construction;

Fig. 2 is-a fragmentary section on the line '2 of Fig.1; v :L-J Fig. 8 is a-vertical side elevation, partly' ins tion and broken away?" s Fig. .4 isa tragmentary plan vlew' showiri continuous paper forin at the left and having -th left marginal strip severed therefrom f at.ftheright; l l l. 1. Fi 5 is a fra m ary d rammat civ ew; showing a set of six-' record sheets; connected to and interleaved 'with five carbons and eorresponding with a sectional view ont the line 5 5 of Fig} 4; L '1 H z F s- 6 m a d ta shnwinsithefl Fig. 7 is a detail showing the pawl connection between the tape driven drum and the drive shaft of the paper feed;

Fig. 8 is a detail of the spring return for the tape driven drum;

Fig. 9 is a detail showing the drive for the rotary cutter which severs the left-hand margin of the paper; i

Fig. 10 'is an enlarged sectional view of the table showing the transverse cutting knife in its final cutting position and the paper gripping clamp ready for bursting the carbon attached strip from the record sheets;

Fig. 11 is a view corresponding with Fig. 10 showing the final position of the parts after bursting the carbon attached margin from the record sheets;

Fig. 12 is a top plan view of a modification having two reciprocable knives, various parts being omitted for the sake of clarity;

Fig. 13 is a similar side elevation showing the knife .which severs the left-hand paper margin; and

Fig. .14 is a similar detail showing the transverse knife which severs the assembled multioopies from the continuous strip of forms.

:In accordance with this invention, I have provided apparatus for severing and bursting a continuous multi-form having interleaved narrower carbons connected together by a marginal strip. That strip is .severable from the main portion of each record sheet along a row of perforations or other type of a line of weakness which insures bursting along this line by a laterally applied force. .The multiplex paper form is fed forward by a drive mechanism, which, as illus-' trated, may be operated by hand. In the preferred machine, a rotary cutter severs the lefthand carbon free margin as the multiple form is fed forward. Thereafter, a transverse cutting knife, is operated, preferably by a foot treadle, to sever a single set of record sheets and their carbons from the continuous form. The carbons are then burst from their interleaved po-v sitions. by mechanism which grips the record sheets near their opposite margins and pulls laterally. The right-hand marginal strip is attached to the interleaved carbons so that as the multiple form is burst along the perforated lines, the carbons may be pulled out. These operations are accomplished by manually controlled mechanisms which are preferably manually operated.

vReferring first to Figs. 4 and 5, one standard type of continuous multi-form having connected sets of record sheets interleaved with carbons comprises folded sheets of paper I interleaved with carbon papers 2 arranged for desired typing purposes. The drawings show three folded record sheets and five carbons. Each carbon paper has a glued margin 3 secured to an associated record sheet, and the three folded sheets are tacked together by adhesive as indicatedat 4, so that the record sheets and carbons are secured together at the right-hand margin 8, as seenby a person stationed at A in Figs. 1 and 4. The margins are provided with lines of weakness, such as spaced or dotted perforations 5 at the left and B at the right along which the marginal strips 7 and 8 may betorn away from the main body ofeach record sheet. Each carbon sheet isnarrower than the record sheet so that the outer left-hand edge 9 of each carbon sheet is spaced inwardly from thetear line 5 at the left. Hence, the record sheets may be gripped by the member. 1!! (Fig.4) outside of the carbons after the left-hand margin strip 7 has been removed. The left-hand margin strip '1 is removed by cutting the paper along the line 5; and, of course, a line of perforations is no longer needed. After the strip I has been cut away, the next step is to burst the carbons from their interleaved positions. This is done by tearing or bursting the'record sheets along the righthand line of weakness 6, and removing the multiple strip 8 carrying the carbons attached thereto. This serves to pull the carbons from their interleaved positions.

The apparatus of the present invention is intended to perform these various operations mechanically. The mechanism shown in Figs. 1 to Y 3 and 6 to 11, inclusive, comprises a table top or platform l2 suitably mounted on standards such as the legs [3. (Fig. 3). The continuous strip is adapted to be fed transversely of the table in the direction of the arrow (Figs. 1 and 4) by means of drive wheels engaging the paper, such as rollers or preferably sprockets l4 and I5 which are operated by a drive mechanism. As illustrated, the sprockets have radial teeth engaging a suitable line of perforations 16 parallel with and spaced from the two margins of the multi-form. These sprockets are mounted on a driven shaft I'I suitably supported in bearings on the machine frame. The sprocket or drive wheel 15 is adjustably mounted on the shaft I? so that it may be moved axially to provide for different widths of the multi-form. This may be done by providing an adjustable set screw in the hub of the sprocket l5 which may be set against the outer surface of the cylindrical shaft H.

The shaft I! may be turned by a power drive mechanism, and this is preferably accomplished by means of a manually operated device comprising a flexible tape is (Figs. 1 and 6) wrapped around and fixed to a drum is which in turn is connected to the drive shaft l! by a pawl 20 pivoted on the drum flange and releasably engaging a ratchet wheel 21 on the shaft I] (Fig. '7). A coiled spring 23 (Figs. 1 and 8) suitably secured at one end to the side of the table 1-2 has its other end fixed to the drum [9 and tends to wind the flexible tape 18 on the drum. The tape is manually drawn in the opposite direction to rotate the drive sprockets l4 and [5 by means of a handle 24 suitably mounted on a slide 25 which rides on a metal strip 26 secured to the side of the machine. A coiled spring buffer 21 surrounding the strip absorbs the impact of the slide 25 when the handle and slide are drawn towards the left (Fig. '1) by the spring 23. An adjustable U-shaped stop 23 is suitably mounted on the slide support 26 so that the slide carriage 25 may be moved only to a required position to locate the paper properly. This stop may be adjusted along thesupport and held in a desired position bya set screw 29 passing through the stop and clamping it against the strip 26. Thus, by means of this manually operated slide member 24, the drive shaft IT and its associated sprockets l4 andv l5 move the continuous strip towards the right in Fig. 1 to a required position, so that the line 32 on which the multiform is to be severed may be brought correctly beneath a transverse cutting knife. corresponds with a row of perforations, now unnecessary for. the cutting operation, which have been provided to assist the operator in severing the fan folded strip, but the line 32 may be creased or perforated to aid in forming the fan fold.

That line A preferred cutter structurefor severing the left-hand marginal portion 1 comprises a rotary cutter knife mounted on a short shaft 36 (Figs. 1 and 9) and co-axial with drive gear 31 which meshes with a drive gear 38 fixed on the shaft IT. The cutter 35 is so positioned that it will sever the left-hand marginal strip 1 along the line 5 and as indicated by the slot 39. (Fig. 4.) Thus, as the continuous strip is fed toward the right, that slot 39 is cut through all of the sheets of the multi-form and the marginal strips 1 thereof are severed automatically. The carbon papers are narrow and terminate at the line!) of Fig. 4 and so are not cut by the rotary cutter. This rotary cutter may be mounted on alever 40 (Fig. 9) pivoted at 4| on the standard l-2. This. permits the cutter to .be swung out ofthe way when the continuous multi-form is to be inserted in the machine. locking cam or lug 43 is pivoted at 44 on. the table I2 and so arranged that the lug 43 engages thetop surface of the. bearing mount of the cutter and thus holds the cutter down against the. paper. sheets during the cutting operation. The paper srip is held in driving engagement with the. sprockets 4 and I5 by means of two slottedVL-shaped plates 46 having slots in the horizontal portions through which the .drive sprockets project. The vertical sides of the-plates are pivotally mounted on short screws 41 carried by the blocks 43 on the table top l2. A spring may be provided to hold each plate down against the paper so as to insure that the sprocket teeth of the drive wheels will pass throughthe perforations l6 of the papers and feed the same properly.

Each set of records of the multi-form is separated 'from the continuous sheet by a transversely acting cutter, which is preferably constructed as a suitably shaped reciprocable blade 50. (Figs. 1, 2 and 3.) The blade is removably mounted on an arm 5| that is pivotally carried on a pivot pin 52 suitably mounted in a bearing on the top of the table l2. The blade cooperates with a, stationary knife 54 set fiush with the table top, a groove being provided in the table to receive the blade 50. To insure that the two edges make an accurate contact at the point of cutting, the blade carrier 5| has its pivot support made laterally movable and urged towards the left (Fig. 1) by a coiled compression spring 55 suitably mounted on the pivot post 52. The free end of the blade mount 5| rides between the two spaced standards 56 mounted on the table. (Fig. 3.) A roller 51 is rotatably pivoted on a pivot carried on the mount 5| and arranged to roll against the inner plane surface of the front standard and press the knife 50 back against the stationary blade 54 as permitted by the spring 55. Various constructions may be employed to serve the purpose.

The reciprocable blade 50 is moved down to out the paper by suitable mechanism, and preferably by the foot treadle 60 (Fig. 3) carried on a swinging arm 6| secured to a rock shaft 62 mounted on the framework. A spring 63 urges A lever 42 havingathe foot treadle 60 towards an uppermost position. The treadle 6|] is pivotally connected by a draw rod 54 to an extension arm 65 secured to the top of the blade support 5|. A screw 66 fixed in the end of the member 65 and loosely projecting through a pivot hole in the draw arm 64 serves to draw down on the cutter blade 50 when the treadle 60 is operated. A spring ing sted. ban ing. P13 9 21 i s arm 5!..

and fixed to the table at its other end cooperates to hold the cutter in an uppermost position when the foot treadle is released. Thus, by means of the rotary cutter 35, the left-hand marginal strip 1 of the continuous multi-form is removed and the forward set of record papers and their.

carbons are severed from the multi-form by the knife 50, as shown at the right-hand side of Fig. 4. After the cuttingoperations, the next step is. that of separating the carbon inserts from the.

ribbon and carbon copies of the typed material. This. is done mechanically by means of the relatively spreadable paper grippers shown primarily in Figs. 1, 3, 10 and 11, which are preferably caused to grip the multi-form in a timed rela-. tion to the transverse cutting operation, as may be accomplished. by having the transverse cutting secured on an angle iron on the side of the arm 5| with the blade teeth arranged parallel with the perforation line 5 but outside of the carbon paper line 9, as shown particularly in Fig. 4, .so.

that the gripping blade .10 engages the main body of the multi-form but not the carbons or the marginal strip I which has been severed by the cutter 35. The teeth bite through the top sheet enough to hold all of the record papersheets securely against the table top I2, and yet leave the short carbons free to be removed. Removal.

of the carbons is accomplished by tearing orrupturing the various record sheets. of paper along the perforated line of weakness 6, which was initially provided on the multi-form. While the member 10 is held in gripping engagement with the papers by holding down the foot treadle, the operator may grasp the righthand margin-8 and tear off that marginal portion with its appended carbon papers.

This bursting of the carbon supporting margin 8.,from the record sheetsis preferably accomplished by the mechanism shown in the drawings. so that the major efiort of rupturing the paper is accomplished mechanically. To this end, I

have provided a slide 14 on a stationaryplate i6 fixed in the recess 15 in the table top. .The slide moves transversely at a suitable angle to themargins of the papers. The plate may be T-shaped and the slide 74 provided with suitable flanges which grip theunder side of the vT memher and so hold the slideplate in place, or other,

cured thereon and carrying a roller 82, the axis of which is at right angles to the blade 50. The roller is so positioned that when the knife blade is brought down to cutv the paper, the roller thrusts the upper plate member 11 downwardly against the pressure of a compression spring 84 (Fig. 10) arranged between plate 1! and the roller slide 74. The relatively pivoted members are so spaced and the roller is of such a size that when the knife 50 is in its lowermost position, the

roller 82 holds the pins in firm gripping engagement with the right-hand margin 8 of the paper to which the carbons are attached r 1A a l ve 8. is. piv tal y connected at .81 to.; tbe ide..;

7 of the slide block 14, and the lower portion of this lever projects through a narrow slot 88 in the table top (2, the sides of which serve as a fulcrum for the lever. A spring 89 engaging an extension of the lever below the fulcrum slot tends to hold the slide in a left-hand position. If the handle of the lever 85 is moved towards the right, the bottom portion of the lever fulcrums against an edge of the slot 88 and causes the slide to move transversely to rupture the papers. The slide may move at such an angle as to tear the papers progressively. This is done while the foot treadle 59 is holding the cutter knife St in its lower position. At this time, the paper strip is gripped by the sharp teeth 88 perforating the strip 8 at 90 (Fig. 4) where the teeth press also against the carbon gummed strips 3. Simultaneously, the other teeth iii engage the left-hand strip between the lines 5 and 9 (Fig. 4) and do not hold the carbons. is thrust toward the right, the margin is torn away from the main body of each record sheet of the multi-form, and the paper is ruptured along the line 8. The hinged plate ll and slide 14 may extend only for a short distance towards the right as shown in Fig. 1, but, if desired, this gripper plate may be arranged to contact with the paper throughout substantially its entire length, so that the margin 8 is torn away from the main body of each paper sheet throughout its entire extent. In the form shown in the drawings, the operator has merely to grasp the left margin between the lines 5 and 9 and the righthand margin 8, after releasing the cutter E6 and. the gripper teeth 8%, and pull the carbon secured margin 8 away from the typed ribbon and carbon copies of the record.

In the modification shown in Figs. 12, 13 and 14, I have provided two pivoted reciprocable blades for cutting the paper in the two directions. In this construction, the blade 59 and its swinging arm support 5! are made the some as above described. .In place of the rotary cutter 35, I employ a second reciprocating blade Hill which is constructed and mounted the same as are the corresponding parts 53 and 5!. The pivot I82 for the arm mi is located at the front left-hand corner of the table 12, it being noted that the operator sits at A on the right-hand side of the machine and faces towards the cutter 52, just the same as for the construction of Fig. 1. These two pivoted knives cooperate with a stationary L-shaped knife iii-i arranged at the near side of the transverse slot in the table into which the blade 56 extends; whereas in the other construction it is preferred that the stationary blade at be located at the far side of that slot. The blades 58 and 100 have such dimensions and shapes that they just come together at their ends and so sever the paper in an L-shaped cut. The blade 53 is operated as before by the treadle rod 5 engaging a projection 65 on the blade support 51. The other blade support H)! has a similar projection I96 riding beneath the arm 65, so that when the latter is drawn down it strikes the part it? and forces the blade its downwardly into the paper. Other constructional details, as above described, may be employed with this modification. The blade I93 is urged upwardly by a spring H18, and it may be moved by a cam or guided as above described so that it rides closely against the stationary blade 104 at the point of cutting into the paper.

'The operation of the apparatus will be apparent from the above description. The continu- I-Ience, when the lever 35 paper by means of their spring 85.

our; multi-form made up of the connected interleaved record sheets and carbons is usually fan folded so as to form a pile of the copies in parallelis'm. It can be mounted on a roll, if desired. The free end of the continuous strip (Figs. 1, 4 and 5) is moved forward in the direction of the arrow so that the holes I6 thereof engage the teeth of the two sprockets i l and i5. Previous to this, the plates 38 and the rotary cutter 35 will have been moved out of the way, so as to permit proper manipulation of the paper. After the contact plates it have been lowered to hold the paper in place on the two drive sprockets, the cutter 35 is swung down by means of its pivot arm ii) and the cam lock 43 (Fig. 9) is engaged to hold the cutter in cutting contact with the paper. Then by grasping the vertically projecting handle 2 on the flexible strip guide, the strip 18 is pulled forward and so serves to rotate the associated drum i9 and turn the spindle I! and thus rotate the drive sprockets and move the paper forward. If a stop 28 is used, this will have been previously set to a desired position, so that, when the slide 25 contacts with it, the line 32 between two sets of record sheets on which the papers are to be severed is exactly beneath the cross knife 59. If for any reason the line 32 is not in proper position, then the shaft I? may be rotated through a short distance by means of a knob H on the projecting end of the shaft 51. During this forward feed of the paper, the cutter 35 will have cut on the left-hand marginal strip on the line 5, and that strip may fall through a suitable opening in the platform it into a waste receptacle. The operator then presses on the foot lever 60 and draws the blade 59 downwardly with sufiicient force to sever the paper entirely across. At the same time, the presser teeth 7B are presse into biting engagement with the paper between the iines 5 and 9. The operator holds down on the pedal 69 and then with a quick movement thrusts the hand lever 86 towards the right and bursts the paper at Hi! along the line 6, as shown in Fig. 4. During this action of severing the marginal strip 8 by tearing on the perforated line 6,

the roller 32 holds the teeth BE in biting engagement with the strip 8 which carries the carbons so that, when the slide 84 and the teeth 8i! move toward the right, this marginal portion necessarily goes with it and thus tears the paper apart along the perforations 5, as indicated at H0 in Fig. 4. Thereafter, the operator releases the foot treadle and the knife 53 springs upwardly and the teeth 89 are likewise withdrawn from the The operator then grasps the muiti-strips by their left and right-hand margins and pulls them apart, the typed copies being held in the left hand and the assembled carbons and associated marginal strip 8 are pulled out at the right and discarded.

It will now be appreciated that various modifications may be made in the above described apparatus so that the parts may be operated mechanically but under the operators control to accomplish the desired ends and that equivalent or other mechanisms may be employed. Hence, the above disclosure is to be interpreted as explaining the principles of the invention and describin preferred embodiments thereof but without imposing limitations on the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for separating parts of a continuous multi-form having sets of connected rec- 0rd sheets connected to a marginal strip at a line of weakness and narrow carbons interleaved with the sheets and connected to the strip comprising mechanism having feed members engaging the continuous multi-form for moving it longitudinally to a given position, a clamp engageable with said strip, a clamp engageable with the positioned record sheets outside of the carbons and means for moving the two clamps relatively to burst the multi-form along said line of weakness and draw the carbons from their initial interleaved positions.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 comprising a manually controlled device which limits the extent of movement of the feed member so that the forward set may be severed transversely on a predetermined line and means for severing the forward set of record sheets transversely on said line.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the multi-form has a marginal strip provided with a line of driving perforations and comprising a rotatable sprocket engaging the perforations, mechanism connected with the sprocket for rotating it only in one direction to feed the multi-form forward, an adjustable stop which limits the movement of the sprocket to position the multi-form precisely for a transverse severing operation and means for severing a forward set of record sheets transversely from the continuous multi-form.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 comprising a cutter arranged to sever the forward set of sheets transversely from the multi-form and means operated by movement of said cutter which serves to bring the clamps into engagement with the multi-form.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 comprising a clamp engageable with the record sheets at a fixed location outside of the carbons, a laterally movable clamping device engageable with the carbon attached strip and means for moving said device laterally to burst the marginal strip and move the carbons.

6. Apparatus for separating parts of a continuous multi-form having sets of connected record sheets interleaved with carbons connected to a marginal strip at a line of weakness comprising drive mechanism for moving the multi-form forward to a desired position, means for severing the forward set of record sheets transversely from the remainder of the multi-form, two rela- I tively separable gripping members respectively arranged for engaging said marginal strip and the record sheets remote from said strip, means operating in timed relation with the severing means for moving said gripping members into engagement with the sheets and strip and means for relatively separating the gripping members and severing the strip at least partially from the forward set of record sheets along said line of weakness and drawing the carbons from their initial interleaved positions.

7. Apparatus for separating parts of a continuous multi-form having sets of connected record sheets, two marginal strips connected to the sheets at opposite sides and narrow interleaved carbons connected only to one strip and free from the other, comprising drive mechanism cooperating with a feed strip for moving the continuous multi-form to a desired position, means for severing the forward set of sheets transversely from the remainder, relatively movable clamping devices engaging respectively the record sheets and the carbon connected strip, means for relatively 10 moving said devices transversely to draw the carbons from their initial interleaved positions, and means for severing the other carbon free strip from the sheets.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 comprising a cutter arranged to sever the carbon free strip and means for rendering the cutter efiective.

9. Apparatus according to claim 7 comprising a rotary cutter and means to hold it in position and sever the carbon free strip as the multi-form is fed forward by the drive mechanism.

10. Apparatus for separating parts of a continuous multi-form having sets of connected record sheets, two marginal feed strips connected to the sheets through lines of weakness and narrow carbons interleaved with the sheets which are connected only to one strip and are free from the other comprising feed mechanism engaging the feed strips for moving the continuous multiform forward progressively, a device for severing the forward set of sheets transversely from the remainder, a device operable to sever the strip which is free from the carbons, a clamp engageable with the carbon connected strip, a clamp engageable with and serving to hold the record sheets apart from the carbons and mechanism for relatively moving the clamps transversely to burst the multi-form along the adjacent line of weakness and draw the carbons from their initial interleaved. positions.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10 comprising a vertically movable bar extending transversely across the multi-form, a clamp member thereon movable by the bar to engage the record sheets, a member projecting from the bar which is engageable with and secures the strip clamp in contact with the carbon connected strip while permitting lateral movement of the clamp, means for operating the bar and means for moving the strip clamp laterally to burst the adjacent line of weakness.

12. Apparatus according to claim 10 comprising a transverse vertically movable cutter bar, a cutter knife thereon extending across the multi-form and manually controlled mechanism for operating the bar to sever the forward set of record sheets.

13. Apparatus according to claim 10 comprising a vertically movable bar extending transversely across the multi-form, a clamp member thereon which is movable to engage the record sheets at a fixed location apart from the carbons, an upwardly urged, laterally movable clamp device engageable with the carbon connected strip, a projecting member carried by the bar and movable to force the clamp device against the strip and provide for lateral movement thereof, and manually controlled mechanism for moving the bar downwardly.

E. STANLEY WRIGHT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,894,065 Sherman et al Jan. 10, 1933 1,894,379 Link Jan. 17, 1933 2,158,727 Morrison et al. May 16, 1939 2,252,734 Sherman Aug. 19, 1941 2,289,161 Zalkland July 7, 1942 2,476,326 Sherman July 19, 1949 

